Kazuhiko Imakawa

By Hiroshi Fujiwara, Yukiyasu Sato, Atsushi Ideta, Yoshito Aoyagi, Yoshihiko Araki and Kazuhiko Imakawa

Part of the book: The Human Embryo

By Hiroshi Fujiwara, Yoshihiko Araki, Shigeru Saito, Kazuhiko Imakawa, Satoru Kyo, Minoru Shigeta, Masahide Shiotani, Akihito Horie and Takahide Mori

Human embryo implantation is mainly regulated by the endocrine system. Since the ovary, fallopian tube, and fundus can directly communicate through the mesosalpinx and ovarian ligament, the local concentration of progesterone in the pathway of the developing embryo is considered to be higher than in systemic blood circulation. The immune system promotes embryo implantation by stimulating progesterone production of the ovary and by inducing endometrial differentiation. The recognition of the developing embryo in the fallopian tube by the immune system is achieved through the para-aortic lymph nodes. On the basis of the above evidence, the autologous immune cells activated in vitro were demonstrated to improve clinical pregnancy rates in patients with repeated implantation failures. In addition, the autonomic nerve system that innervates the fundus, the ovary, and the fallopian tube from the para-aortic region is proposed to regulate the environment of the pathway of the developing embryo. From these findings, we suppose that a unique unilateral functional unit to promote human embryo implantation exists in the pathway of the developing embryo including the para-aortic regions and propose naming this novel functional unit the Fundus-Ovary-Salpinx-Para-aorta Implantation Promoting unit (FOSPa-IP unit).

Part of the book: New Discoveries in Embryology